Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Paganini - 24 Caprices for Solo Violin - James Ehnes

 


 

 

 

 

Review:

James Ehnes is the perfect Paganini's Caprices player. With Ehnes you can hear any single note with clarity, even the fastest lick sound pure and crystal clear. Also it has great sonority, control, and an awesome musical expressivity. This young (born in 1976) Canadian genius may not be a very well known violinist by now, but with recordings like this amazing performance he's going to become a classical master for sure, if not yet. Also the sound quality is exceptional due to the use of 20 bits cd mastering, in addition to the most advanced recording techniques and the best studio equipment. Ehnes used on this recording the 1717 Windsor Weinstein Stradivarius violin loaned in 1994 by the CanadaNiccolo Paganini Council in recognition for his amazing playing abilities. This work is a demonstration on how far can the violin technique go. Paganini was the best violin player of his time with a sparkling personality. Because of his devilish aura and look he was said to have a contract with the devil to make him the best violin player ever. He used to say that the main reason to write his music was to prove that no other violin player could ever play it.

In fact, the 24 Caprices are a point of break between the usual violin techniques and the "supernatural" ones. Paganini introduced a blend of new and surprising techniques as the double stop, unusual pizzicato, complex chords, and things like playing a pizzicato on two strings while playing with the bow on the other two strings, or playing the same melody on two different octaves at the same time, always playing close to the speed of light.

 

flac, covers

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